STUART — More than three years after Robert and Olga Hamilton of Stuart applied for a Community Development Block Grant to help restore a historic church they own, the project remains stalled amid disputes over contractors and the grant process.
The couple purchased the 1895 structure at 311 S.W. 3rd St. in 2019 with plans to make it their home and an art gallery. They renamed it the 1895 Church of Stuart to honor its history. Built as Stuart’s first Methodist church, the building was later moved and became home to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.
The Hamilton’s signed CDBG documents in 2023 naming Guardian Community Resource Management as grant manager and Patriot Response Group as contractor. But after crews replaced the roof, the couple said they noticed problems: missing ridge ventilation and windows that didn’t fit…